Cherry Almond Red Lentil Granola Bars

Cherry Almond Red Lentil Granola Bars are perfect for refueling with post-workout or for a healthy and delicious snack! These soft and chewy bars are packed with nutrients thanks to red lentils, and I promise, you won’t even know they’re in there!

Thanks to my friends at USA Pulses for sponsoring this post! As always all opinions are my own.

Did you see the title of this recipe and think, “oh boy, what’s she doing sticking lentils in a granola bar?” Trust me, I’m a skeptic when it comes to putting beans or lentils in baked goods. I had an unfortunate baking fail where I tried making black bean brownies once, but this recipe surprised me and turned out both delicious and nutritious! 

These Cherry Almond Red Lentil Granola Bars are a different story. When USA Pulses asked me to create a pre/post workout snack using pulses I immediately knew I wanted to use lentils. Before I get into all the health benefits of lentils, let me clarify what pulses are and no I’m not talking about what you check for to make sure someone is alive. Pulses are delicious, protein-packed, sustainable foods that include chickpeas, lentils, dry peas and beans. 

I chose to use red lentils in these granola bars for a couple reasons. First, is that lentils have a very mild flavor and let’s be real, you probably don’t want to taste lentils in a sweet granola bar. For many people, myself included, there’s a part of my brain that doesn’t like the idea of taking an ingredient I use in savory recipes and adding it to something sweet. 

Well I’m happy to report that unless you are trying incredibly hard to taste the lentils in these granola bars, they go undetected. I was actually really surprised because after those unfortunate black bean brownies, I can easily taste when beans have been hidden in baked goods. What the red lentils do add to these cherry almond granola bars is a slew of health benefits.

Running is my workout of choice and before and after every run I need a little snack to wake me up (I’m an early morning runner) and give me some energy after going hours without any food. If you can’t eat before or know that lentils may not be a good choice for you as pre-workout snack, they work just as well to refuel and repair your body post-workout.

Lentils are packed with iron, protein and fiber. All of which are important for runners and other athletes, the iron being especially important for females. A 1/2 cup serving  of cooked lentils contains 15% of your daily iron needs, 12 grams of protein and around 30% of your daily fiber intake. Pretty impressive stats coming from these little red nuggets!

The Cherry Almond Red Lentil Granola Bars are gluten-free, vegan and easy to make. The amount of time it takes for the lentils to cook (about 10 minutes) is about the same amount of time it will take you to get everything else prepped. All of the ingredients are mixed together in one bowl and then the mixture is baked in a 9×13 pan. That’s all there is to it!